Success of Internet Job-Search in the Russian Labour Market

The study examines the internet job-search in the Russian labour market and its success, based on data from RLMS-HSE panel. The integration of the internet into the labour market created a new more efficient channel of communication between employers and potential employees and provided additional search tools to the unemployed workers. 48.8% of those unemployed used these tools in 2014. For the sake of econometric treatment, the internet search tools were narrowed down to the job-search engines (also named “internet advertisements” within the panel survey framework). Estimates show that the internet job-search increased one’s odds of finding employment in the 2010-2013 timeframe but not in the 2006-2009 period, in which the effect is statistically insignificant. Based on these results, the conclusion is made that the gradual transition of recruitment towards online platforms is what turned internet job-search into a successful search method in the recent years.